The Construction of Literary Understanding by First and Second Graders in Oral Response to Picture Storybook Read‐Alouds

Abstract

S In the context of the common, but potentially rich situation of classroom storybook readalouds, this study describes what constituted literary understanding for one classroom interpretive community of first and second graders by analyzing their oral responses as picture storybooks were read aloud to them. Over seven months, field notes and transcripted audiotapes of 83 read‐alouds were collected; 45 representative readalouds were selected for intensive analysis. The findings indicated five types of literary understanding: (a) textual analysis, (b) intertextual connections, (c) personal connections, (d) becoming engaged in the story to such an extent that the world of the story and the children's world were transparent to each other, and (e) using the text as a platform or pretext for creative expression. A grounded theory of literary understanding was developed, differentiating and relating the five aspects of literary understanding by (a) the stances assumed by the children, (b) the actions performed by the children and (c) the various functions of the text. The five aspects were further conceptualized as the enactments of three basic literary impulses that interact synergistically. The hermeneutic impulse is the drive to understand the story and interpret it. The aesthetic impulse consists of either receptively responding to the story as a lived‐through experience or using the story as the platform for one's own creative expression. The personalizing impulse is the impulse to link the story to the self and personal experience. The study suggests that the impressive literary critical abilities of children as young as first and second grade are appropriately understood through a wide variety of theoretical perspectives. The resulting grounded theory unifies and integrates these perspectives as well as focuses specifically on the literary understanding of young children. En el contexto de la común, pero potencialmente rica situación de lectura de cuentos en voz alta en el aula, este estudio describe lo que constituyó la comprensión literaria para la comunidad de un aula de niños de primero y segundo grado, analizando las respuestas orales a libros de cuentos ilustrados que les fueron leídos en voz alta. Durante siete meses, se recolectaron notas de campo y transcripciones de 83 lecturas en voz alta audiograbadas. Se seleccionaron 45 lecturas en voz alta representativas para ser analizadas en profundidad. Los hallazgos indicaron cinco tipos de comprensión literaria: (a) análisis textual, (b) conexiones intertextuales, (c) conexiones personales, (d) involucrarse en la historia a tal punto que el mundo de la historia y el mundo del niño se volvieron transparentes y (e) usar el texto como plataforma o pretexto para la expresión creativa. Se desarrolló una teoría fundamentada de la comprensión literaria, diferenciando y relacionando los cinco aspectos de la comprensión literaria por medio de (a) las posiciones asumidas por los niños, (b) las acciones llevadas a cabo por los niños y (c) las varias funciones de...

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